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Surrey Six victim took over rival drug line by force one day before slaughter, court hears

Michael Lal Sr., father of Surrey Six murder victims Corey and Michael Lal, enters B.C. Supreme Court for the trial of his son's accused killers, in Vancouver, Friday, October 4, 2013.

Photograph by: Jason Payne
, PNG

METRO VANCOUVER — The day before the Surrey Six murders, victim Corey Lal took over a rival drug operation by force, B.C. Supreme Court heard Friday.

Jason Le, who had been working for the dial-a-dope operation since August 2007, testified that he was at work in a Surrey basement suite when Lal and several others barged in at about 10 p.m. on Oct. 18, 2007.

One of them had a gun and patted him down, Le told Justice Catherine Wedge on Day 5 of the first-degree murder trial of Cody Haevischer, Matthew Johnston and Michael Le. The Crown submits that the trio plotted to kill Corey Lal, a rival trafficker, and then fatally shot five others so there would be no witnesses.

Stephen Leone, who ran the drug line that Jason Le worked for, showed up a short time after Lal's crew arrived with "a lump on his face," Le testified.

Le told Crown prosecutor Geoffrey Baragar that Lal, whom he knew from high school, was calling the shots that night.

Lal ordered Le to go and collect the drug line's cellphone, as well as cocaine and marijuana from the worker doing deliveries that night.

Le, just 19 at the time, said he did what he was told and later returned to the basement suite, where Lal asked if he wanted to work for "Eddie" — one of Lal's associates whom Le had never met.

Eddie gave Jason Le his phone number and told him to call the next day.

Le, who used his mother's cellphone and car while selling drugs, called Eddie the next morning and was told to come to the 15th floor of the Balmoral Tower.

Le testified that he saw building manager Tracy Carothers when he got off the elevator at about 1:30 p.m. as she was knocking on doors to remind tenants that gas fitters were checking fireplaces that day.

Once in suite 1505, Le said he saw Ryan Bartolomeo, whom he also knew from school, and a second man he didn't know cooking crack cocaine on the stove.

Lal was at a glass-top desk, Le testified, and he sat down beside his new boss to crunch numbers and see what he would be paid.

Le said Lal gave him marijuana and cocaine to sell and he left after about 15 minutes.

The Crown alleges the murders of Lal, Bartolomeo, Eddie Narong, Michael Lal and bystanders Chris Mohan and Ed Schellenberg happened at about 2:40 p.m. that day.

Le said he gave the drugs Lal supplied to his co-worker, but that the man was robbed with bear mace later on Oct. 19.

Le tried to get ahold of Eddie and Lal to report the robbery, but both their cellphones had been turned off, he testified.

He said he only learned of the murders several days later from Leone.

"He said that Corey and Eddie got whacked," Le said.

Le, who now details cars for a living, testified that he quit the drug business after the murders.

Asked why, he said: "It got scary after that day."

Le said he got involved in the drug line after a friend told him it was good money. He earned $300 a day as a "runner."

He described how dial-a-dope lines generally work — there is a phone number that is passed to customers mainly through "word of mouth," and a "work house" where the drugs are wrapped for sale and where the "runners" are loaded up for their deliveries.

The line runs for up to 18 hours a day.

"It is pretty much like delivering pizza. The customer would call the line and we would deliver the product," Le said.